The trade reunites Beauchemin, 30, with the organization that helped develop him into a top-four defenseman who played an integral part in the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup title run. It is also a clear sign that Ducks general manager Bob Murray was looking to give his team a boost in its battle for a playoff spot in the rugged Western Conference.

Beauchemin has two goals, 10 assists and 16 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Maple Leafs this season.

"We are thrilled to be able to reacquire Francois," Ducks GM Bob Murray said in a statement. "He is a physical, puck-moving defenseman with tremendous character. We would also like to wish Joffrey Lupul well in Toronto. He's worked very hard to return from a serious ailment and we hope he can get his career back on track."

Murray said in a conference call that the team's push for a playoff spot in the absence of Ryan Getzlaf faciliated the move.

"We really felt we had to help our defense," he said. "We believe we've done that."

Murray said moving Lupul was costly but "it was an area where we felt we were deep enough at forward" and pointed out that it gives the organization some breathing room financially because "two or three years from now, after the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), we'll be in much better shape."

The trade gives the Ducks a logjam on defense. Asked if there was another move coming, Murray said, "I'm aware we have nine defensemen. Nothing imminent, but we do have nine."

It is another deal that Murray has made with his former boss Brian Burke, Toronto's president and general manager. Not only does the trade give the Ducks a potential upgrade on defense but it gives them someone they're readily familar with.

Back when he was an assistant GM, Murray insisted to Burke that Beauchemin had to be included in a deal that sent Sergei Fedorov to Columbus in November of 2005. It turned out to be one of the Ducks' best trades in franchise history.

Not only did the Ducks rid themselves of Fedorov's bloated contract but got back a former third-round pick of Montreal that matured into a physical minutes-eating defender who could also fit on the power play.

Beauchemin played with the Ducks for nearly four seasons, scoring 21 goals and 69 points with 172 penalty minutes over 246 regular-season games. He also played in 55 playoff games with Anaheim and had four goals and four assists in 20 games during the 2007 title run.

Beauchemin averaged over 30 minutes a game during those playoffs and he could slide in beside rookie Cam Fowler on the second defense pairing as he averaged 23 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time with Toronto, where he signed a three-year free-agent deal worth $11.4 million in the summer of 2009 after leaving Anaheim.

"We have a couple of kids here," Murray said in reference to Fowler and Luca Sbisa "Beauch is a great character. He'll come in and handle those kids."

The Ducks assume the remainder of Beauchemin's contract, which pays him $3.55 million this season and $3.65 million in 2011-12. But they also freed up more room under the salary cap in dealing away the 27-year-old Lupul and a contract that still pays him $4.25 million in each of the next two seasons.

Lupul struggled to find his place with the Ducks after they reacquired him at the 2009 NHL draft in a deal that also brought along defenseman Luca Sbisa from Philadelphia for Chris Pronger.

A serious back injury and a resulting blood infection that kept Lupul off the ice for nearly an entire year stunted his progress. Lupul returned to the lineup on Dec. 5 against Phoenix and scored in his third game back but found himself out of place on a third line without a true playmaking center.

Lupul had five goals and eight assists in 26 games with the Ducks this season. With the Maple Leafs, the well-rounded and quotable forward gives Burke the scoring winger he's been desperately looking for along with a top defense prospect coming in return for giving up Beauchemin.

Gardiner was the Ducks' first-round selection in 2008 and he's currently playing his junior season at Wisconsin, where he has seven goals and 23 assists along with a plus-20 rating in 30 games after helping lead the Badgers to the NCAA championship game last season.

Because of Fowler's immediate ascendance to the Ducks' blue line as a 19-year-old and the progression of offensive defenseman prospect Justin Schultz, it allowed Murray to use the sweet-skating Gardiner as a trade chip.

The trade also leaves the Ducks with nine defensemen on the roster, which could lead to another move by Murray. Regular healthy scratches Paul Mara and Sheldon Brookbank have been the odd men out for a while.

"I'm aware we have nine defensemen," Murray said. "Nothing imminent but we do have nine."

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